Assessing the utility of high-rate GNSS data from dual-frequency cellphones to study small-scale plasma variations in the aurora and the April 8th solar eclipse

This research aims to provide answers to three questions: (1) What can the small-scale structures of large-scale ionospheric phenomena reveal about the physics at play? (2) Will the new generation of dual-frequency smartphones allow us to characterize those structures? (3) How can we best enlist the help of citizen scientists to provide the space weather community with a dense and reactive network of those high rate dual frequency smartphones? Our framework involves a small team of citizen scientists equipped with dual-frequency Pixel 7 smartphones gathering high-rate (1Hz) GNSS TEC data in the auroral zone, around Fairbanks, USA. These localized, otherwise unattainable data combined with co-located all-sky images constitute the first inquiry into the suitability of using dual-frequency smartphones for the study of the aurora. We also investigate the effects of the April 8th solar eclipse on the data obtained from dual-frequency smartphones, shedding further light on their sensitivity to ionospheric perturbations and potential as tools employed to the study of space weather.